U.S. Senators Raise Concerns About Extent Of Sexual Abuse In Sports

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Senators investigating sexual abuse in sports said on Tuesday they were concerned about “potential systemic issues” involving abuse after written responses from the U.S. Olympic Committee and USA Gymnastics did not provide significant new details about how they responded to accusations of abuse.

The Senate subcommittee is waiting for responses from the national governing bodies of 53 other Olympic sports, from swimming to figure skating, to help determine the extent of abuse.

US - Senate - Investigation - Jan - Sentencing

The U.S. Senate opened its investigation on Jan. 25 after the first sentencing hearing for Larry Nassar, the former doctor for USA Gymnastics’ national team who has pleaded guilty to molesting female athletes. Nassar was sentenced in January and February in two separate hearings to 40 to 175 years and 40 to 125 years in prison.

Senators Jerry Moran, a Republican, and Richard Blumenthal, a Democrat, said in a joint statement that they wanted to know if officials at the sport’s national governing body and the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC) could have stopped Nassar’s...